Samadhi?

The word Samadhi is found in the early Buddhist leterature, specifically the Anguttara Nikaya IV.94 of the Samadhi Sutra of Shakya the Muni, namely Gautama of Kapilavastu, India's first historical yogin. There is a long history of the use of this word in early pre-sectarian Buddhism, in the Chan tradition and in Zen Buddhism. In the index of the Visuddi Magga, for example, there are over twenty-five references to Samadhi that need to be read in context. However, the word Samadhi is not found in any of the 10 Upanishads commented on by Shankara Acharya. This is no small mattter and cannot be passed over, for if, as you say, the attainment of Samadhi is central to the experiential verification of the Vedanta, one would expect the phrase to occur in the sacred texts, would one not? Samadhi: 1. Sanskrit (Sa=FAma=FAdhi) n. Jap., sanmai or zanmai 2. Nirvana, Parinirvana 3. from the root word 'Sam', to establish, make firm. 4. A conscious experience that lies beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. 5. A non-meditative meditative mental equipose.

willytex@yahoo.com wrote: > The word Samadhi is found in the early Buddhist leterature, > specifically the Anguttara Nikaya IV.94 of the Samadhi Sutra of Shakya > the Muni, namely Gautama of Kapilavastu, India's first historical > yogin. There is a long history of the use of this word in early > pre-sectarian Buddhism, in the Chan tradition and in Zen Buddhism. In > the index of the Visuddi Magga, for example, there are over twenty-five > references to Samadhi that need to be read in context. > > However, the word Samadhi is not found in any of the 10 Upanishads > commented on by Shankara Acharya. This is no small mattter and cannot > be passed over, for if, as you say, the attainment of Samadhi is > central to the experiential verification of the Vedanta, one would > expect the phrase to occur in the sacred texts, would one not? > > Samadhi: 1. Sanskrit (Saúmaúdhi) n. Jap., sanmai or zanmai 2. > Nirvana, Parinirvana 3. from the root word 'Sam', to establish, make > firm. 4. A conscious experience that lies beyond waking, dreaming, and > deep sleep. 5. A non-meditative meditative mental equipose. I'm sorry that I don't remember this as well as I would like to, but I have read somewhere that the yogic tradition used to be a subculture or even a contraculture to Brahminism. Maybe this could explain why the Vedas don't use that (really very technical) term. I'm not certain at all about this, or whether whatever book I once read it in was very authoritative, but perhaps it could be worth looking into, if you could find any references to it. BTW, I always thought Samadhi meant "sameness meditation" from a root meaning same, and another root which also "Dhyana", meditation, comes from. S.

samadhi has nothing to do with jnana aka bodhi. <willytex@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1118754887.493628.118150@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com.. However, the word Samadhi is not found in any of the 10 Upanishads commented on by Shankara Acharya. This is no small mattter and cannot be passed over, for if, as you say, the attainment of Samadhi is central to the experiential verification of the Vedanta, one would expect the phrase to occur in the sacred texts, would one not?

Sevenhundred Elves wrote: > I always thought Samadhi meant "sameness meditation" from a > root meaning same, and another root which also "Dhyana", > meditation, comes from. > The key word here is cessation - an experience of epistemological reflection. The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in the early discourses of the historical Buddha, thus Patanjali's conception of freedom is related to the ancient Buddhist view that the source of suffering is the craving for permanence in a universe of impermanence. Both the 'Four Noble Truths' and the 'Eightfold Path' articulated in the Buddha's first discourse are elements that underlie the yoga system. Two striking examples of this are Patanjali's use of the word nirodha in the opening definition of yoga as citta-vrtti-nirodha, that is, 'Yoga is the cessation of the turnings of thought' and the statement that "all is suffering, dukkha, for the wise man." Dukkha, suffering, and nirodha, cessation, are crucial terms in Buddhist vocabulary and the doctrine of suffering is the core of what Buddhists believe the Buddha taught after gaining enlightenment. Patanjali's ashtang eight-limbed practice is parallel to the eight-limbed path of Buddha.

anon wrote: > samadhi has nothing to do with jnana aka bodhi. > The Buddha's Eightfold Path to Bodhi (enlightenment) 8. Right Samadhi Pali samma samadhi: A mental factor present in every state of consciousness. The Eightfold Path: http://buddhism.about.com/library/bleightpath.htm